an autumn day [Mikayla]

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Erich was hungry. Yeah he probably shouldn't have skipped breakfast that morning, plus to top it off, he had been up all night working on that present for his best friend Chris. But the present had gone great. It was supposed to be for his birthday, but he just might give it to him early. Everyone loved getting birthday presents even if they were early. But he had stopped by one of the nearly fifteen restaurants that Mercury had started up in New Rome. That didn't count the food stalls that he had given the start up money for. Mercury was also the only one that wasn't deeply into that whole lord and lady thing. He was nice, and he really catered to the growing demi-god appetite. Though most of the portions must have been geared towards his own children. He ordered the small sandwich and it was enough for him to eat for a week. The basket had three sandwiches, a gallon of french onion soup and a massive bag of chips. But he had some work to do and he really couldn't do it on an empty stomach. Erich wandered through the forum with the food in hand and a back pack over his shoulder.

The Lake. Erich decided that the peace and quiet of the lake would be a perfect place to sit and work on his reasearch. He plopped down against the tree, looking out over the lake. IT was a crisp autumn day. He took in a deep breath, the cold air filling his lungs. It was much easier for him to focus his magic and his mind during the colder months than it did during the summer and spring. So he sat there and pulled his books out along with his notebook. He looked at the diagram that he had been working on. He tapped his pencil on the bottom lip, trying to think of what happened to over power the fail safety that he had placed on his circle. Something had gone wrong, it had caused an explosion that ended up sending him flying into a tree and bouncing across the forest floor. No it wasn't one of his finest moments and he'd have to tell Chris the story when he next saw him. But Erich was going to figure out why the power converged so drastically. Maybe the moon positioning was off by a tiny bit, maybe the timing was wrong. There were so many unknowns and factors that had to be accounted for.

There was a strong gust of wind and his loose papers scattered out of his notebook along with the leaves that went skittering by. "Oh hell's bells" He cursed under his breath as he got up and chased after them. He quickly snatched them up but one particular piece of paper continued to elude him. He watched it and then pounced, landing face first as he held up his hand in triumph, clutching the paper with a look of victory. "Nice try you slippery little...." He said with a grin.

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The lake. It was the one place in all of camp that Mikayla felt at home. It could be the fact that she was a daughter of Neptune, it could be the fact that she had always lived near some form of water, or it could be a combination of the three things all together. If only she could live out here by the lake all of the time she would be. There was a calming peace about the water and she knew that it would be a great day. The way that the small waves moved on the surface because of he wind that blew across it. Anyone that knew her would know she’d be out here, even on a nice crisp day like today.

Noticing no one else around she picked up her violin and held it up ready, her eyes looking over the water. Starting the count in her head she placed her bow to the strings and started to play Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor, the haunting tune sounding across the lake. As she played her mind started to focus and she channeled that focus into the water allowing a ribbon of water to slip from the water and start dancing around her as she continued to play. The breeze from the water blowing the skirts of her blue dress as she played more, it was almost as if the water was moving in beat with the music.

When the song finally finished she put her violin away as the water sank back into the lake. Just as she promised her mother, she would practice every day to make sure her skills stayed. As the wind picked up she looked around, thankfully it wasn’t a son of Jupiter causing this wind. Finally her eyes landed on a boy sitting across the lake who was thinking, had he seen her? Hopefully not. Wait, she couldn’t do this to herself again! She was going to have to open up to more people again soon, why not today?

Walking over to the boy she watched him with interest as he went after the one sheet of paper that was getting away from him. Thankfully he was paying attention to that and not her coming towards him. Hearing him in triumph over a piece of paper caused a small fit of giggles to escape her lips as she stopped in front of him. “Your paper causing you that much trouble?” Her words slipped out softly as she raised a delicate eyebrow. This guy looked familiar, had she seen him around before?

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Erich closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He could hear the faint noise, no it wasn't noise, it was music. Chopain if he remembered correctly. The music was quite beautiful. He could faintly remember hearing it in the outdoor ampitheater once. It was quite lovely. So he watched as he clutched some scattered papers in his hands as the water reacted to the girl playing music. Ahh the lovely Neptune girl. He had heard about her in passing. She was Clare's sister. Clare was a bit more well known, being engaged to the praetor and centurion to boot. But in his opinion, her sister was better looking. Well, Erich thought, Chris wouldn't like the idea of him and his cousin hanging out. But still. He then returned his attention to the task at hand, gathering up his papers. He returned to his seat by the tree as he then picked up a rather large leaf. He examined the brilliant red and orange color. He really liked things with lots of colors. He flipped his notebook open to the back where he placed the leaf down. Erich pressed on it with his palm before muttering a stream of French, his spell, before pulling his hand away. The leaf would be preserved for a good long while now.

He heard a small giggle and he looked up to see the girl with the violin. Erich gave his usual half grin of sorts as he looked down at the ground. One on one interactions didn't bother him so much, it was when he was in large groups of people he had problems. Parties were not his cup of tea. Or soda or water or whatever. “Well I can't very well let it run free, who knows what sort of trouble it would cause?” He said in response to her question. His English was accented with his native tongue, German. But at least he could speak a few languages without a problem. No he wasn't a Mercury child, but sometimes the best thing for a spell was a language that wasn't your own. His own mother said that she preferred ancient Egyptian for fire and earth spells. Erich had no real way of learning dead languages, other than Latin of course. Maybe he could learn Arabic for his earthen spells. That sounded like it would work fairly well in his opinion.

“Oh please forgive me.” Erich said as he gave a bit of a bow. It wasn't right to not properly introduce yourself. “I am Erich Wiess, son of Trivia, the lady of magic and crossroads.” He said as he looked around, hoping that he really wasn't embarrassing himself. Well he probably was but at least it didn't feel like it was too much embarrassment.

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Thankfully she was able to come to the lake and enjoy some peace and quiet. This was where she could come to play and just be herself. Not only could she play but she could learn to control her powers more. Sure she was getting better at her water use but; well, the downside was she needed to learn to control her earthquake ability. Once she was able to do this then she would be a real threat on the battlefield when she had to fight. Lucky for them there would be no need for them to fight in another war for a while, at least that was what she was hoping and praying to the Gods for.

This moment alone was where she felt like she could do anything. It was sad because she needed to get out and actually interact with the others here in New Rome and in camp.

As she played she had no idea about the other person being there watching her as Heshe played until she was done. That was until she was done playing and finally opened her eyes. From what she could see he was interested in watching her play. Lucky this was camp and there really were not any creepy people here. It was just another demi-god or legacy here, someone that she could talk to because they all had something in common.

When she finally approached him she couldn’t help but feel like she was going to make a new friend. The first of many, hopefully. A grin played on her lips as he spoke about the paper causing trouble. “Well, we all know how mighty the pen and paper are. So I am assuming that your piece of paper could have caused peace or may the Gods forbid a great war.” Pen and paper, mightier than any sword they could wield and use in battle. It was pen and paper that sent them to war and it was pen and paper that stopped the war.

Taking a seat next to him she placed her violin case on the ground and then turned her attention to him. She couldn’t help but notice that his eyes reminded her of the sea. Something that she liked, she could already tell that he would be a good person to have around. When he asked for forgiveness she smiled, “you’re forgiven already because you’ve not committed any transgressions.” Yes, level headed. Even if introductions were proper to do it wasn’t always necessary to do at first.

A son of Trivia? He must have some amazing powers! Maybe if she was lucky he would show them to her. Raising her hand she called a small stream of water and allowed it to dance around and through her fingers. “I’m Mikayla Sinclair, daughter of Neptune, Earthshaker and Lord of the Sea.” She held her hand out, palm face up and the water condensed into a ball before she sent it back into the lake. “So what was that pesky piece of paper trying to get away from? Homework or did it just not want to be written on?”

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Oh wow this girl was smart and funny? Jackpot. "Wow, I must commend you. Not too many people are good with such quotes." He said, tossing her a nice smile. "I doubt my paper could change the world, just my magic." Erich said as he showed her the equation he had researched out of one of the books in the Library. Quite expansive, Erich often found himself there, researching and reading till the library closed or he had to run off to some sort of engagement For the Cohort. Or training with Chris. Yeah the latter was much more painful than the first. Chris was pretty excellent with a sword. Erich was learning to not rely on his powers so much any more. It had cost him dearly in the last war, nearly causing him to loose his arm. But such was the sacrifice of war. "It is reasearch, an equation for magical properties, the laws of energy as a matter of fact. Kinetomancy. It's sort of a law of equivelent exchange only using energy to transform from one form to then next as it is neither created nor destroyed."

"Sorry, I'm bothering you with this." HE said as he stretched out against the rough bark of the tree trunk. He was so sure there was a nymph attached to it somewhere around here. He had met her one once occasion before. She had been fascinated by him preserving the leaf trick once before, loving that some part of her was going to live on through winter for at least a few years. Erich had learned that little trick from his mentor, a basic spell that lent so many uses over the years. Anders had worked in historical texts, it was no wonder that he had a few spells for preserving things. Then she introduced herself as a daughter of Neptune. "Oh yes, I remember you, you're the girl in my cohort. Sorry I didn't recognize you before. So many people you'd think I'd remember a beautiful face like yours." There was many people in the legion, but that was no excuse to forget someone who was in his own cohort. That was just stupid and mean. "I've been working hard on a birthday present for my best friend. Hopefully it will be something he likes, I worked hard on it and nearly got myself killed in the process. That's why the reasearch. I have to figure out why my energy had an unexpected amplification."

((sorry shortness))

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“That is one of the things I have seen with most of the people in the legion. They only work on their strength and not their brains. Though, that could just be the children of Mars that I am thinking about.” They all needed to be well versed in all forms of war this way they could have the upper hand in a battle. The way he smiled though, it made her lose track of her thoughts for a second. It was nice to see someone smile at you and not condemn you. When he spoke of magic that perked her interest. “So it’s true? You really can use magic?” Sure it wasn’t like the magic that she had read about in books, what it looked like he was doing was formulas.

As he showed her the formula and explained it she nodded her head. “It sounds like the first law of thermodynamics. No matter or energy is created or destroyed. All the matter that is here is all the matter that will ever and has ever been and will be. I like this magic, it seems simple but complex all together.” It took a lot more work than when she used her powers, manipulating water or creating a minor earthquake. There wasn’t much to that like there was with his magic.

“It’s no bother at all, I really have nothing else to do today and I like having some company around.” It also helped they were in the same cohort so they would be able to hang out more. How had she not recognized him at first?

When she sat down she looked him over again before looking to the lake. This was her home or well her home away from home. She would have to see if her fellow cohorts would mind if she built some sort of water area or at least got a fountain or something. His comment about her having a beautiful face took her by surprise. Very few people had said that to her, at least to her face. She could feel the flush moving through her cheeks and she quickly turned away. “I think it’s because I’m always at the lake and spending time here. I mean I could ask myself the same question; it’s your eyes though. They remind me of the sea and how beautiful it really is.”

So he was out here making a birthday present for his best friend? That had to be fun! Being able to actually use your powers to make something for someone. His best friend must be one lucky girl. Well at least she was assuming that it was a girl, she could be wrong. “What are you making? If I can help I will gladly lend a hand. Unless it’s something special between you two?” That best friend of his could actually be something more than just a friend.

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"Oh I don't know about that. Charlie reads rather extensively and she's a daughter of Mars. She's also got a spinning kick that could take your skull off if you aren't careful." Erich knew very well how smart and brutal Charlie could be. His best friend had dated her and now they were both centurions of first cohort. He was rather glad that he wasn't in first cohort. Though there were times where he did wish that he had been in first, so that he didn't have to rely on his own powers so greatly. He did enjoy summoning massive flames, stalwart rocks and stout gusts of air. He loved his spells way too much. "Yeah, I can do magic. Do you want to see?" Erich was always up for showing off. A good spell required an audience. No he really wasn't into doing the whole sort of magical thing that idiots used to pull a flea bitten rabbit out of a pawn shop hat. No he could do much better things than that. He was built to some day be extraordinary.

But now the question was, what sort of spell should he do? Something simple, but it also had to be something beautiful, something rather extravagant. Oh, now he knew what to do. Erich stood up and dusted his hands off. He grabbed his staff and his focus rod. Erich whirled the staff around as he walked to the edge of the lake, planting it in the shallows of the water. He extended his rod towards the sky as he muttered a string of German mixed with Latin as the water snaked and whirled as it wrapped around his chest and arms and suddenly shot towards the sky and he brought the rod down, growling in more Latin as lightening shot upwards, there was a rumble of thunder and a flash of lightening and a little rain cloud appeared over his head, creating a personal little storm. His necklace glowed white hot as it then subsided, leaving him slightly breathless, but Erich quickly got it under control. But now he was soaked through, right down to his boxers. Ehh he needed to get a change of cloths anyways since his had started to get a little musty from all the time that he had been spending in the library. He really had to get out more often and not really wandering to the library or one of his siblings shops.

"I could always use some help. I have a hard time getting some materials." Erich said as he wiped a strand of hair from his face. "You know Chris right? Son of Jupiter, First Cohort centurion. It's a pendant that stores static electricity so he can use lightening so long as he's got it, he'll always have a bit of energy to use." Erich said as he motioned to one of the drawings in his book as he wiped another strand of water from the storm he had just conjured up. The soaking wet feeling was a minor side effect. "Yeah sorry about the sudden storm. It's one of my favorite spells. I can do other things too."

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“She does? That’s amazing! Maybe I was wrong about most of the people here.” She was definitely going to have to get out more and meet new people. Ones that she could grow close to and actually count on. This way she would actually be able to put the past fully in the past and let it all go. That way she could focus on her training and actually become the warrior that she was meant to be. If she could prove that to herself and be that warrior then her friend wouldn’t have died for nothing.

Her eyes widened at the thought of being able to watch him do magic. “I would love to see! It’s always been a dream of mine to see someone do real magic, not the stuff you see on the televisions with these so called magicians.” She was actually going to see real magic! Okay, it shouldn’t be too surprising something like magic exists, look at them. They were all living proof of the supernatural and mystical being demi-gods.

She sat back and waited as it looked like he was trying to figure out what spell he was going to do. Maybe he would do something with water? That would be fun! Not to mention well it was water, she loved the water. It also helped that water was important to all life on earth. When the lightning bolts shot from his hands her eyes widened once more. He was actually doing it! As the storm cloud took hold and it started raining she giggled. It was water! “This is amazing! You can create storm clouds and other things? That really has to be useful in battle.” He could actually create this stuff! That was better than what she could do.

Thankfully he agreed saying he could use some help. “Materials huh? I think I can help you out there.” As he continued she racked her brain, Chris? Oh! He was one of her cousins. “Yeah, I think I’ve seen him around. I haven’t talked to him yet though, one of these days I will.” As he told her what he wanted to do she nodded her head. “I’m all in to help you get what you need. It will be fun and it’s something he can use.”[/color] Her eyes scanned his body noticing how soaked he really was. As he apologized she giggled again and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, I love the rain and water so it was perfect. What other things can you do? Could you dry out your clothes?” With how it was going to get cooler later she didn’t want him out here to catch a cold.